From the USA Today College Hockey Web site:
 
Roy discusses tragic accident for the first time
 
ATLANTA - Travis Roy broke into tears today as he described trying to
 get off the ice after
crashing headlong into the boards in his first shift as a Boston
 University hockey player.
 
''I remember my head was tilted out to center ice and I sat there
 breathing,'' he said in his first news
conference since the Oct. 20 accident left him paralyzed. ''I could see
 my bench, my players, my
friends were around me. I do believe I knew something was seriously wrong.''
 
Roy spoke to members of the news media at the Shepherd Center, where he
 transferred from
Boston on Feb. 5. With his parents watching from the audience, Roy
 spoke at length about his
hopes of returning to Boston University and their hometown of Yarmouth, Maine.
 
''I want to become productive and live as normal a life as possible,''
 he said.
 
Roy's girlfriend, Maija Langeland, sat beside him as read a statement
 and then answered questions
from reporters, offering him water, touching his shoulder. She wiped
 away his tears twice when he
briefly was unable to continue.
 
Before Roy spoke, Dr. David Apple Jr., the hospital's medical director,
 said the 20-year-old is
scheduled to be released April 11 in time for his sister's wedding
 later in the month. Apple said he
expected Roy to regain the use of one or both biceps. Roy said he had
 no feeling below his chest,
with the exception of his right arm.
 
''We're very pleased about his progress,'' Apple said. ''He'll be able
 to feed himself, which he's
already working on. And he should eventually be able to drive his
 wheelchair ... using a joystick.''
 
Roy began by assuring those hearing him for the first time that the
 remained spiritually and mentally
intact despite the accident, which came 11 seconds after he stepped
 onto the ice in his first game
for BU.
 
''I'm still the same Travis Roy I was before the accident,'' he said.
 ''My intelligence has not changed
and all the values I considered important before October 20th are still
 the same today.''
 
Among the toughest moments since his injury were watching his Boston
 University teammates win
the Beanpot tournament, and seeing his family split between New England
 and Georgia. The best
moments included getting off his ventilator and learning to eat alone.
 
As his father stood over him on the ice that day, Roy remembers feeling
 embarrassed that, unlike
other times he was hurt, he couldn't make it back to the bench to nurse
 his injury out of the public
eye.
 
''I've always been that tough,'' he said. Roy also remembered telling
 his father ''that I finally made it,
accomplished what I wanted to do.''
 
 
-end of article
 
Chris Lerch
US Colle Hockey Magazine
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.